Dr Lois Forbes explains how two ICAS courses can help you build resilience and improve your wellbeing at work

Words: Fiona Nicolson

Staying physically fit is a high priority for many of us. We run, go to the gym and try to eat healthily – and should feel better for it. But psychological wellbeing is just as important for thriving, both in life and at work. 

To support CAs and other professionals in achieving their health goals, ICAS, in partnership with BPP, is offering two courses – one on psychological survival skills in the workplace and the other on psychological wellbeing. The sessions run in May, June, August, September, November and December. 

The courses are ideal for professionals seeking to achieve better performance at work and leaders aiming to build healthier organisations. They are also likely to be a draw for attendees who hope to find greater meaning and balance in their life.

The Psychological Survival Skills course explores resilience, how to build it, and its limits; different types of stressors; coping strategies for managing workplace stress and responding well to difficult situations at work.

The Psychological Wellbeing course covers what it means to be well psychologically; how to live an authentic, purposeful and meaningful life in the face of anxiety and uncertainty; and how our wellbeing affects how we think, react to others and perform at work.

Being psychologically well

There are sound reasons for seeking to improve psychological wellbeing at work, as course leader Dr Lois Forbes observes: “When you have a strong sense of psychological wellbeing, you’re much more likely to be thinking positively and able to connect well with other people. But if you’re feeling negative, you’re likely to be thinking negatively. This will influence the way that you communicate with people and affect your work performance – that’s not good for you or the organisation you work for.”

“Psychological survival skills enable you to deal with adversity”

Dr Forbes explains that the concept of amor fati, which means ‘love your fate’, can be helpful: “This philosophy does not focus on hoping that things will get better: it accepts adversity and acknowledges that this is the way things are. It’s quite tough to live by, but those who do so tend to have better coping strategies.” And this links to the resilience course.

Building resilience

“Psychological survival skills enable you to weather adversity,” says Dr Forbes. Responding effectively to stress builds resilience, helping people to deal with the demands of organisational life, often leading to increased productivity at work.

“There’s not just one thing that will make you resilient. It’s a combination of many different elements including the external and internal resources you have. For example, social support is an external resource: the people you can rely on for physical, emotional or financial support. Internal resources include qualities such as adaptability and flexibility. 

“Each time you encounter adversity, it’s likely to be a different situation, so you can’t necessarily apply the same tools each time. You have to adapt cognitively and emotionally to each separate situation. One approach to coping with a difficult situation is to think of it as a problem that needs to be solved, analyse it and come up with possible ways of doing so. Another is more emotionally focused such as seeking support or finding a sense of meaning in it, but when people seek to deny or avoid the situation, it’s not so helpful.”

There are also different types, or levels, of stressor and, as Dr Forbes says of even the more minor ones, “If you are experiencing a lot of these stressors, they will build up. It can be compared to pouring water into a vase. Every time something irritates, more water gets poured into the vase, until eventually it overflows. We tend to downplay ordinary irritations but we need to be aware that if there are too many, that is going to have an impact.”

Dr Forbes says, “You also have to work out what you can change and what you can’t. Acceptance of the situation is helpful when there is nothing you can do to change it. What matters is what you choose to focus on. I see focus as a lighthouse beam. You choose where you’re going to shine that beam. What you choose to focus on will help you remain emotionally balanced.”

 

Find more information, including dates and prices, on Psychological Survival Skills and Psychological Wellbeing